Three new projects in the field of essential oils for the natural molecule chemistry laboratory

The Laboratory of Natural Molecules Chemistry (previously the General and Organic Chemistry Laboratory) has been working for more than 25 years in the field of essential oils. This expertise is reflected by the launch of three new projects.

The European project EOHUB (European Hub on new challenges in the essential oil field, a KA2 cooperation project for innovation and exchange of good practices - knowledge alliance ) brings together academic and economic stakeholders from different European countries to share and spread knowledge on essential oils.

Though being mainly produced in Southern countries and sometimes unfortunately from threatened plants, essential oils are mostly used in northern ones. This particular feature creates an expanding market context but completely decentralized. Indeed, due to their olfactory properties but also to their antibacterial and antifungal activities, the field of applications for essential oils is broad: food, drink, flavour, perfume, cosmetic, cleaning product, parapharmacy, preservative.

More recently, essential oils applications have been extended to agronomy as bio-pesticides (antifungal agent, insecticide and herbicide). Indeed, it is around this hot topic that the other two new projects are articulated, both financed by the Walloon Region (DGO6 and DGO3) and in collaboration with the UCL.

The OILPROTECT project aims to formulate a mixture of essential oils for the protection of stored food products such as cereals. Concerning the TreeInjection project, the purpose is to protect fruit orchards against pests and fungal diseases by injecting a preparation based on essential oils directly into the xylem sap of the trees.

Besides these two applied research projects, it is in close collaboration with the Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of the Interfaces that the modes of action of essential oil are studied in a fundamental way at the molecular scale, for several biological activities related to agronomic applications. In addition, it is in collaboration with the University of Reims that new methods of controlled release of these essential oils are being developed using innovative bio-based polymers.